Zero Carbon Initiative by Computer Maker

Posted on June 5th, 2007 in health and wellness, energy, environment, computers and internet by Thomas

Todd Woody of the Green Wombat blog reports that Dell announced today their .

Flowing with the “green word of the day”, in this case “” and “” is the easy step to take. Follow the flow, instead of being ahead or creating the flow.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it is a bad thing to work on the “zero carbons”.

But, is it enough? Even close?

Computer and electronics manufacturing is usually a “dirty business”. Toxic and causing substances are used and released into the environment during the manufacturing process. Those very same substances are also left as residue on the components. They gas out while in your office or home.

Many people, especially those with can tell you what happens to them when they are exposed to a computer manufactured in this conventional way.

The toxic and carcinogenic substances are additionally a problem later, when the computer is decommissioned and needs to be recycled, dismantled, etc.

The commonly used flame retardant () is not regulated anywhere and has recently been linked to prostate cancer, obesity, and other diseases. See our other blog entries for more information.

If you feel tired after working all day with your computer, this is a combination of

  • from your computer, cell phone, etc. draining your body’s energy field
  • outgassing of toxic and [tag-tec]carcinogenic[tag-tec] substances. Your body has to spend energy to get rid of them. That’s energy you could spend on something else, like work, and if your work is not fun, on fun stuff.
  • noise. Constant background drains your energy level, too.
  • ergonomic problems. Non , wrong position of monitor, keyboard and mouse, create and deplete your body. A tense neck/shoulder area has caused many .

The technology to avoid or reduce those factors significantly, by 80%, 90%, 97%, has been around for many years.

To find out more about the toxins and cancer causing substances, how to get around noise and improve the ergonomics of your workstation setup, subscribe to our Free E-Class “Secrets of Healthier & Greener Computing”.

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Hormones in Your Computer May Make You Fat

Posted on February 17th, 2007 in health and wellness, environment, computers and internet by Thomas

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is currently having their conference in San Francisco. According to an article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung today, they said that lab experiments with -A, a chemical that mimics , made the lab animals fat and its appearance in “nature” also coincides timing-wise with the increase of overweight and obese people.

is a plasticizer in practically all plastics that come in contact with our food and many more. It is used as can liner, plastic wrap, plastic containers, plastic bags, etc.

It is also part of the plastics in computers. Most computer motherboards contain about an ounce of (TBBPA) as a flame retardant. These flame retardants gas out slowly and then at the end of life there is a risk that they end up in the ground water, etc.

There are still many studies that claim that is “no danger” to the environment and humans, as it is “not bio-accumulative”. However, recently it has also been linked to prostate cancer.

In our Free E-Class “Secrets to Healthier Computing” you can find out how you can avoid 97% of the bisphenol that normally used in computers.


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Prostate Cancer Causing Substance in Computers

Posted on June 6th, 2006 in health and wellness, environment, computers and internet by Thomas

Marla Cone of the Los Angeles Times wrote last year in June in an article about bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical widely used in plastics, and latest research that links BPA to .

BPA is used in polycarbonate plastics, which are used in many food applications, plastic containers, soda/pop bottles, etc. Bisphenol-A, in the form of TBBPA (Tetrabromobisphenol-A), is also widely used in electronics as a flame-retardant.

According to research, BPA mimics estrogen and while the male fetus is growing in the womb, BPA might alter the genes of the prostate, which is leading to a significant increase in over the past decades.

Then, later on, it looks like that same very same chemical also interferes with medication that is used to treat prostate cancer. Read Yelena Wetherill et al, University of Cincinatti, in Molecular Cancer Therapeuthics.

What Does This Have To Do With Computers?

BPA, is widely used in the electronics and industry. While mostly eliminated from plastics used in computer cases, etc. it is a major component on the electronics itself. A from of BPA called Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) is used as a flame retardant. Besides the bisphenol-A TBBPA also contains bromine, which is a reactive halogen. More on that another day.

What can be done? First, make sure your current computer is recycled properly when decommissioned.

If you buy a new one, you might want to consider a computer that uses less TBBPA. To our knowledge, there is only us, GreenMachineShop that builds computers that have over 95% less TBBPA than other computers. There is a free e-class on our website where you can read up more about TBBPA and other toxic and carcinogenic substances, power savings, electromagnetic radiation, etc.


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